International Journal of Research in Social Sciences Vol. 8 Issue 9, September 2018, ISSN: 2249-2496 Impact Factor: 7.081 Journal Homepage: http://www.ijmra.us, Email: [email protected] Double-Blind Peer Reviewed Refereed Open Access International Journal - Included in the International Serial Directories Indexed & Listed at: Ulrich's Periodicals Directory ©, U.S.A., Open J-Gage as well as in Cabell’s Directories of Publishing Opportunities, U.S.A Indian Television Channels and Contents: From Globalization to Glocalization Dr. M.Dileep Kumar * ABSTRACT Television industry in India has come a long way from public broadcaster Doordarshan controlled social and developmental programs to modern day entertainment shows dominated by the national and international television channels. The globalization of media has also brought about remarkable changes in the television broadcasting services in India and abroad. The television soap operas (fiction) and the reality shows (non-fiction) aired in General Entertainment Channels (GECs) have certainly affected the local culture, environment and people in India. The satellite television channels have expanded their services in various regions in India and found new opportunities for income generation through broadcasting and advertising. Practically, the article establishes the fact that, though the content seems Indian in terms of production values, the origin of some of these popular programs are undoubtedly from the transnational borders which affect local values, lifestyles and food habits. Key words: Indian television, television industry, television contents, transnational borders, rural heartland. * Guest Faculty, Department of Studies in Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Mysore, Karnataka, India 123 International Journal of Research in Social Sciences http://www.ijmra.us, Email: [email protected] ISSN: 2249-2496 Impact Factor: 7.081 Preamble There is a remarkable growth and development of television industry in India and abroad. Television has emerged as a prominent means of education, entertainment and advertisement. Television broadcasting has also become a million dollar industry in India. It has contributed notably towards the Gross National Product. Television has also brought about dramatic changes in all walks of life including culture. The contents of television channels have undergone a sea change in the age of liberalization of broadcasting. The transnational channels have reached out to local areas in different regions of India and affected the values and other aspects of human life. The article primarily deals with the Indian television contents which have traversed from the transnational borders to rural heartland on the basis of qualitative research methodology. Television Industry in India Television is indeed the marvel of the 20th century which is basically an audio – visual medium of communication based on the optimum use of sight and sound. This unique medium communicates information, education, advertisement, entertainment, publicity, propaganda and other services to the mankind by combining the elements of sound, picture, motion, color and drama. It simultaneously appeals to one’s sense. The presence of these rich characteristics of theatre in television makes the communication process more effective and helps the viewers in the perception of information. Television is mainly responsible for the rapid shrinking of the world – a world without boundaries. It is obvious that television plays a dominant role in modern society. It is widely understood that television has both positive and negative impact on people. Television is one of the most powerful forces man has ever unleashed upon himself. Today people spend most time watching variety of television programmes both domestic and foreign. It is very well said that television is the heavy weight of all mass media. It denotes the importance television has assumed in our lives and the dramatic changes it has brought about in our modern society. The highly advanced TV cameras can also take breath taking pictures or space and the deep sea in close proximity. The advanced television technologies have paved the way to easily access the Internet on television itself instead of a conventional computer monitor. Thus, television has become a multi-faceted medium compatible with new communication technologies. 124 International Journal of Research in Social Sciences http://www.ijmra.us, Email: [email protected] ISSN: 2249-2496 Impact Factor: 7.081 Although DD has improved its production quality and extended its services in response to the competition from the private broadcasters, the Indian television market has now become much more diverse and open to global influences in its content (Sinclair and Harrison 2004:13). Indian Doordarshan does not hold any monopoly in the television market under the existing circumstances. A good number of private cable and satellite channels (C&S channels), both Indian and foreign have entered the television industry. There are about 190 million C & S television homes in India in 2018 which has resulted in the television penetration of 65 percent. The television reach in terms of cable and satellite TV subscribers’ base stood at 160 million at the end of 2018 financial year. There is about 82 percent of the total number of television households in India as of now. The timeline presents the value of the Indian TV industry from 2007 to 2015 and provides a projection of the value until 2021. Chart : Television penetration India Competitive Television Industry Television has become one of the major platforms where India is experiencing the influences of global culture. The easy availability of international television channels through satellite since the beginning of the 1990s forced the liberalization of a television market, which was until then closely shielded as a national monopoly by the state broadcaster Doordarshan. This opening up of the market led to a profusion of satellite channels. Although some of the early international services such as STAR TV still remain prominent in the cultural market, the most successful 125 International Journal of Research in Social Sciences http://www.ijmra.us, Email: [email protected] ISSN: 2249-2496 Impact Factor: 7.081 networks are from India. In addition, there has been a strong growth of Indian language television channels other than Hindi, such as Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali, Marathi and so on. The rise of FTA genre saw a commensurate increase in interest from advertisers, with the spot rates for these channels increasing by about 50-70 per cent during the year. Regional channels were impacted more, due to a higher chunk of local advertising and a deeper cut in advertisements especially in Hindi channels (Bajpai, 2016:01). The TRAI tariff and interconnection orders released in March 2017 are expected to play a critical role in ensuring an equitable distribution of revenues across the TV value chain, and finally usher in monetary benefits that the process of digitization had intended to (Broadcast Audience Research Council India, 2017:02). The television industry is expected to grow at a CAGR of 14.7 per cent over the next five years, reaching a size of Rs 1,165.6 billion by 2021. The industry has indeed embraced the growing popularity of digital media to create cross platform content with a view to ensure engagement of the brand with consumers on an 'on-demand' basis (Menon, 2017:06). The Indian Pay TV Industry is the third largest in terms of households after the USA and China in terms of value. In absolute numbers while China has 378 million households (HH), the USA has 118 million HH, and India has 183 million HH. The penetration level in the United States of America is almost 98 percent, while in China and India it ranges between 70 and 80 percent, indicating a clear upswing of at least 20 percent in next 4–5 years, given the pace of digitization (Mulchandani, 2017:08). Television in India has sustained its growth as an important medium for both broadcasters and advertisers in view of its unparalleled reach and viewership. It remains as a dominant digital media due to proliferation of 4G and Smartphones. It has achieved commendable growth of around 9 percent in 2017 with Rs.600 billion business (KPMG India, 2017:05). The television advertising contributes to approximately 41,000 crore of revenue vis-a-vis 34,000 crore of subscription revenue in India. The Indian Pay TV Industry offers a very big opportunity for 126 International Journal of Research in Social Sciences http://www.ijmra.us, Email: [email protected] ISSN: 2249-2496 Impact Factor: 7.081 broadcasters. The overall industry contribution to GDP of the country has gradually moved up from 0.3 percent over the last 7–8 years to 0.55 percent of GDP in 2017. Television industry is poised to grow in future with digitization and opening of FDI the industry which would increase the contribution to GDP. Regional Television Market Although transnational television channels have been blamed for ‘cultural invasion’ over the past decade, their impact in stimulating growth of Indian channels cannot be overlooked. In fact Zee Corporation was one of the greatest beneficiaries in the initial years of evolving satellite television in India. Launched in 1992, Zee TV is one of the most popular Indian television brands now. Zee Corporation produces programs for Zee group of channels. It also has a cable distribution arm, Siticable, which is also one of India’s largest